I was once asked if piercing is professional or personal for me… 

The profession has always been personal.

 

 

I’ve been in this industry since I was 2 years old, I grew up in tattoo shops. The smell of green soap and the buzzing of an autoclave soothed my soul. I was collecting forceps and tracing Freddy Negrete in elementary. I was scrubbing tubes in the 4th grade. Literally. 

Then at 14 I was offered a chance to pierce at a tattoo shop. I quickly grasped at anything I could learn and relate to doing piercings safer and better.

Piercing quickly turned into something I fiercely protected.

The entire culture, science and art form around it deserves to be respected.

Like jewelry is fun and all and I will miss it, but now days it’s easy to fake it. 

What I’m really going to miss is executing angles, and getting them right consistently is just the best feeling!

I’m going to miss the scientific things that clients don’t see…

Using the right disinfectant and knowing how it works.

The science and mechanics behind an autoclave and the different tools they’re meant to clean.

Sterile processing and cross contamination prevention

Troubleshooting and wound healing dynamics… omg!!

Metal compositions

Where and how jewelry is made !

Needle quality

Sterile setups !

The state doesn’t require your piercer to know ANY of this 🥺 so when I’m gone, who will you have around here that not only knows it, but is passionate about it?

 I’m grieving.

 

 

I’ve been so protective over the practice of piercing safely, I’m genuinely worried for your health and safety once I’m gone. That is part of what makes this so hard...

 

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Even though I am leaving, I didn't want to leave without giving you some information on how to determine if a piercer is safe enough to get pierced with, the criteria I go by, and piercers I would personally trust to pierce me. 

 

 

My Criteria:

 

It's important to understand that in Texas, and I've heard that in many states, there isn't any training required to start piercing.

 

In Texas, as of 2026, individuals don't need a license to pierce. The business owner just submits their zoning letter from the city, pays for the license online, and that's it! Anyone can work under that license. No training. No testing. No opening inspection.

 

The state used to require an online bloodborne pathogen course (usually about 20 minutes long, very basic and not industry specific) and a CPR course (usually a 5-10 minute video, and a small quiz after).

 

After speaking with the licensing department recently, I was informed they no longer require these basic courses, and although they now require a business uses implant grade titanium and steel as well as 14k/18k gold, they told me they do not require the jewelry to be non plated.

 

The state also removed the minimum standard on autoclaves. Before the state did not permit the use of "pressure cooker style" or "pop top" autoclaves. Now, the state doesn't specify this, but they still do not require a class B autoclave with a dry cycle, the only kind of autoclave that can properly sterilize hollow instruments, such as needles (unused) tattoo tubes, and jewelry.

 

A lot of businesses are using autoclaves that are only meant to clean flat instruments. And without a dry cycle, if your packaging or your paper products such as gauze, q tips, and drapes are still wet, it is no longer considered sterile. 

 

Remember, the state doesn't require your piercer to have ANY training or knowledge about the following information. 

The Autoclave: For my standards, the studio or piercer you go to should be using a Class B autoclave with a dry cycle. The most effective brand for what we do as piercers is a SciCan Statim, specifically a Statim 2000, 5000, or G4. A SciCan StatClave or BRAVO is also a great autoclave for larger loads. Another popular effective brand is the Enbio. However, opinions vary on its reliability and longevity. Ask to see the autoclave, and if the piercer knows what class the autoclave is. The brand and model name should be on the front of it. Remember, there is nothing wrong with asking to take a tour of the business including the processing room. Reusable tools should always have their own room for reprocessing. 

 

Disinfectant: The gold standard in the piercing / tattoo industry is Optim1, a highly effective disinfectant that kills almost everything imaginable within 1 minute, or for killing Hep B, Hep C, HIV, Flu, RSV, Noro and more, as little as 30 seconds. As a fungicidal, it acts in 10 seconds, and if it stays wet, it only needs to be applied once. Ask your piercer to see what disinfectant they use and how it works. 

 

Gloves: Your piercer should be using sterile gloves to pierce you, and should not touch packaging or any other tools and materials unless they come directly out of the autoclave, with the sterile gloves. Usually, your piercer will have all of their sterile items, without packaging, directly laid out on the inside packaging of the sterile gloves, unless they sterilized another material or opened a sterile package and laid out the sterile items inside that directly. Ask your piercer if they use sterile gloves. If they say yes, the gloves will come in a paper that is inside a plastic pouch.

 

Sterile Environment and Cross Contamination Prevention: Although the state doesn't require a piercer to have any training in this area, it is crucial to your health and the success of your piercing, even more important than quality jewelry. Ask your piercer what kind of training they have in aseptic technique, and how they maintain this during a piercing and practice this throughout the business. Generally, your piercer shouldn't touch packaging and then touch you. They shouldn't grab supplies and then directly touch you or your piercing, and they especially shouldn't touch you and then reach for other supplies or touch other items such as jars, cabinets, or other hard surfaces outside the set up of your tray. Your piercer should not tear open packaging by popping the item out and they should not open packaging up and then touch the items without sterile gloves or dump the items out onto the tray or bib. Everything on the set up should be separated. Prep is usually non sterile but if your piercer uses "prep packs" it does become contaminated during the prep phase, this is normal. The prep items should be separate from the piercing materials, using sterile packaging or some sterile draping to maintain a sterile field. The set up should not look like a bunch of open packages, jewelry and tools all dumped out onto the tray. Your piercer should also never go directly from grabbing supplies, touching you, prepping you, and then reaching for sterile items or items to pierce with, without first switching gloves or switching to sterile gloves to perform your piercing. If your piercer is only laying out items and soaking them prior to piercing rather than sterilizing them before use, this is an unsafe practice. The only time professional piercers will do this is if the gemstones in the jewelry are genuine and too fragile to be autoclaved, and your piercer should be able to verify this for you. If your piercer does any of these actions, they are cross contaminating and should not be piercing. 

 

Anatomy: Checking anatomy usually doesn't take long, but your piercer should tell you if you do or don't have the anatomy for a piercing before piercing you, not during or after. 

 

Jewelry: Although important and pretty, its is the least important part of the whole equation, but it can also make a huge difference in your healing. And it says a lot about the person or business piercing you. The best jewelry is made in the USA. This isn't discriminatory, it's proven quality. Your piercer should at least know where the jewelry is made, and should carry MILL Certificates, a document that proves what the jewelry is made of. MILL Certificates from foreign countries have been proven to be forged or falsified, so it's important the jewelry have third party or domestic testing. Popular companies such as Buddha Jewelry and Junipurr get their jewelry made overseas, but their jewelry is safe. This isn't the case for most other companies getting their jewelry made over seas. Most supply companies that tattoo shops, piercing franchises, piercing boutiques, and aestheticians order from are mass-producing poor quality, even if they are treadless and are "gold" or "titanium". Most poor quality jewelry used to be externally threaded and looked obviously fake. Now, it takes a more trained eye to tell the difference between good and bad jewelry. The polish on the jewelry is just as important as the material itself. Jewelry that isn't polished to a mirror finish can have microscopic scratches and scuffs that can harbor bacteria and irritate the healing wound, leading to complications with healing. Ask your piercer where their jewelry is made, ask if they have MILL Certificates to verify the quality, and then ask them if they can tell you the designers name. 

 

Needles: Most safe piercers will not use a catheter needle unless they are based outside the US where this was more common, and they don't need to advertise that they do "needle piercings" or "hollow needle piercings", for professional piercers this is a red flag. Using a catheter needle is controversial because of the risk of trauma from the needle sliding back out of the sleeve, the needle not being as sharp and precise as a piercing needle and the slight size difference in the wound and the jewelry due to the sleeve on the needle. It is considered unprofessional to use a catheter needle when professional piercers have access to high quality needles. Ask your piercer where their needles come from, the best quality of most commonly used needles come from the US, and they cannot be bought off of tattoo/piercing supply websites. My favorite company has a sticker on the bottle that says "Made in the USA" and the needle doesn't come pre sterilized. 

 

Aftercare: Your piercer should not recommend antibacterial soap, dial soap, bactine, tea tree oil, antiseptic solutions, alcohol, bandaid spray, hydrocolloid spray, hypochlorous acid, dr piercing products, bump solutions, or solutions from popular piercing franchises such as a business at the mall or kiosks. Saline solution is a very popular and easy aftercare regimen to repeat to clients, but it's not the best thing for everyone. Ask your piercer about the different phases of healing, and other aftercare alternatives if saline isn't working for you. They should be able to confidently explain aftercare options and the reasons for them. You can read my blog post on aftercare to find out my preferred methods.  

 

Skin Prep & Marking: Your piercer should never use a sharpie to mark you, this is usually a red flag amongst unqualified piercers. There isn't anything wrong with the sharpie, pen or marker itself, but rather the repeated use across clients. If they do use a sharpie, pen or other marker, they should be throwing it away in front of you, or giving it to you to keep. Your piercer should first prep your skin with alcohol to remove all makeup, "dirt" and debris, followed by marking you, and ending in an antiseptic skin prep. Appropriate antiseptic skin prep products include an antiseptic piercing cleanser or iodine. As professionals we don't consider BZK wipes, bandaid solution, bactine or other antimicrobial/antibacterial cleansers as an appropriate form of skin prep. Ask your piercer to explain their skin prep process with you. 

 

Certified vs Membership vs Education: The APP is the only organization that is currently creating higher standards and offers credible continued education for piercers. While I do appreciate the efforts of the APP and how it has shaped our industry, for personal reasons I chose not to become a member, being the rebel that I am. I do not see the a huge benefit to membership other than advertising and recognition amongst other piercers, so long as you are following the guidelines. Being a member doesn't prove skill, and it doesn't prove that the member is a good, safe and kind person. The APP does not certify anyone.  Someone claiming to be certified by the APP or any other organization is falsifying information and should not be piercing. You can verify a membership on their website, and report imposters. The APP does not grant membership based on skill level. To become a member you have to pay your dues, submit your invoices for quality jewelry purchases, submit a video to ensure your studio is set up safely, and do a quiz to verify your knowledge on bloodborne pathogens and other industry-standard information. Some members no longer follow industry standards or maintain their studios once they earn membership, I have seen this first hand. Just like some members are not skilled piercers or safe, kind people, there are also many  safe, kind and highly skilled piercers who are not members. Finding a piercer who at least uses the APP for continued education more than once and actually applies that education, is a good place to start in your criteria. For example, the APP offers a great industry-specific bloodborne pathogens course you have to take multiple times a year. Professionals refer to our annual educational conference as "Conference", it can be expensive and hard to take time off of work, so it is not always possible attend every year. Ask your piercer what kind of continued education they do. 

 

 

 

Piercers I Personally Trust:

 

 

In Corpus Christi, there is only one studio other than Prestigious Piercing that meets the above criteria. Just like Prestigious Piercing, they have a proper Class B autoclave and only use safe, verified jewelry that is real, non plated, and has a mirror polish. Just like us, they use proper disinfectant, and I think they use sterile gloves. Although I can't say they continue to stay up to date with their education.

Due to alleged and repeated statements made to me from several clients expressing their discomfort and inappropriate experiences, I will not be listing that business on my references. 

Just to reiterate, there is only ONE studio other than Prestigious Piercing practicing acceptable criteria in Corpus Christi.

Unfortunately, that means that every business in the Corpus Christi area offering piercings is not qualified according to industry standards and therefor I cannot include them on this list.

That doesn't mean they aren't popular, or that there aren't people that get lucky and have good experiences, but as far as operating to the standard that should be upheld, they don't meet this criteria.

 If you want your studio evaluated and added to the list or know of someone that should be added, reach out to us! hello@prestigiouspiercing.com

If more businesses in the Coastal Bend improve their standards and practices, they will be included on this list when that happens, and I can only hope our area gets more qualified, safe piercers and businesses to rely on. That is one of my goals for the scholarship I have started, to hopefully assist in that growth for our local market.

Prestigious Piercing, RIP

Please read the information above to learn why other studios don't meet our standards

 

 

Lake Jackson: 

Kori at Seven Souls Piercing

 

 

San Antonio:

Tru Piercings

Undefined Art

 

 

New Braunfels: 

Faythe In Needles

 

 

Austin: 

Diablo Rojo 

Shaman Modifications 

Golden Goat 

 

 

Houston: 

713 Tattoo & Piercing 

Houston Heights

Maria Tash

 

 

DFW:

Shaman Modifications

Midgard Piercing 

Jane Doe Tattoo & Piercing

Satori Tattoo Collective

 

 

Florida: 

Blood Body Art, Tampa, St. Pete, Orlando 

Golden Halo Body Art, Jacksonville 

Drift Piercing Studio, Orlando 

 

 

Colorado: 

Iris Piercing Studios 

 

 

California:

Vaughn Body Arts, Monterey

Rose Gold's Tattoo & Piercing, San Francisco

The Exotic Body, Sacramento 

Lemonade Piercing, Lafayette

Industrial Tattoo & Piercing, Berkeley

Oak & Poppy, Woodland Hills

Ancient Adornments, LA

New Flower Studio, Long Beach 

Rebel Rebel, Anaheim

Sacrament Body Piercing, Lake Forest

 

 

Arizona:

Red Art Tattoo and Body Piercing 

HTC Studios

 

 

New Mexico: 

Evolution Body Piercing 

Ascension Body Modification

 

 

Oklahoma:

Positive Piercing

 

 

Tennessee:

Born This Way Body Art

 

 

Georgia:

Piercing Experience, Atlanta 

Virtue & Vice, Atlanta 

 

 

Minnesota:

Bevel Piercing Mpls

 

 

North Dakota:

Alchemist Tattoo & Body Piercing

 

 

New York:

So Gold Studios, Brooklynn, Long Island

Nine Moons Piercing, NYC 

CowPok, Williamsville, Buffalo

 

 

New Jersey:

12oz Studios 

 

 

If you are in or near one of these states and need closer locations, I recommend looking up one of these studios and calling them for a recommendation on someone closer to you.